Whenever Huntley‘s back was against the wall Saturday, it performed at its best.
All nine runs the Red Raiders scored in their 9-6 nonconference road win at Maine South came with two outs.
“Scoring with two outs, it’s definitely a game-changer, trying to extend the innings as much as possible,” Huntley coach Andy Jakubowski said. “That was the difference in the ball game right there.”
The Hawks’ Jack Gianikos opened the game by pitching a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the first, and in the bottom of the inning, Braden Cremins scored to take a 1-0 lead. Cremins was a courtesy runner for Luka Stojakovic.
After both teams went scoreless in the second inning, the Red Raiders (23-4) took the lead by tallying four runs in the top of the third. Although the first two batters were thrown out at first base, Huntley didn’t seem to be affected.
Brady Klepfer hit a double that drove in Kyle Ziebell to even the score at one apiece. Leo Bianchin scored Aiden Eickelman, and Klepfer would end up finding home plate as well. Gavin Rettberg scored off a wild pitch before the Hawks were able to get out of the inning with a 4-1 deficit.
“Shorten up our strikes, get it on the barrel, and have a good, quality at-bat,” Jakubowski said regarding how the Red Raiders were able to extend the inning. “We’ve been focusing a lot on trying to stay back through the middle as much as possible.”
In the top of the fifth, the Red Raiders’ bats got hot once again. With two outs, Drew Borkowski’s triple brought Klepfer and Rettberg in for their second runs of the contest. Ziebell would end up recording three RBIs by driving in Borkowski, Diego Herrera and Ashton Jones.
As Huntley’s starting pitcher, Klepfer commanded the mound in his five innings pitched. He faced at most four batters in each inning and recorded six strikeouts.
“He threw 77, 78 pitches for us. He gave us five-plus innings, and he was outstanding today,” Jakubowski said.
The Hawks (17-11) found momentum in the bottom of the sixth by scoring five runs.
Sean Sladsky, who went 3 for 4, scored Stojakovic. Jordan Rosa would end up scoring Sladsky with a sacrifice fly, and Jack Fisher followed suit by bringing Nate Cera in with another sacrifice fly. Pinch-hitter Jack Croon’s double scored home Gavin Krischke and Ryan Pape to bring the Hawks within 9-6.
“We’ve been having [high-scoring innings] all year,” Maine South coach Brian Lorenz said. “We came back in the Mount Carmel game. Glenbrook North, we were down four with two outs, came back and scored five straight runs. Everything in the game matters.”
Huntley relief pitcher Josh Rudnick faced just three batters to secure the contest for the Red Raiders in the bottom of the seventh, giving them their 23rd win of the season.
“We played probably the worst defensive inning, pitching-wise, that we played all year,” Jakubowski said. “We were able to overcome it.”
https://www.dailyherald.com/20260509/prep-baseball/baseball-two-out-hitting-keys-huntleys-nonconference-win-at-maine-south/